We are super pleased to introduce guest contributor John Ray! John is going to be chiming in on all things Razorback Greenway. Why? Because the Greenway has become a very important part of Northwest Arkansas. And if you ever ride the Greenway chances are you have run into or passed John. He logged 5000 miles (mostly on the Greenway) last year. We are looking forward to his future posts on where to eat, drink and be merry along the Greenway. Also all things related to the commuting lifestyle. Without further adieu. Please meet John Ray!

Why I Ride

or, You Can’t Outrun Grief, So You Better Get a Bike

By John Ray

My wife Jane was the first one to figure it out.

She could take her old Giant out and ride the trails that formed the Razorback Greenway in its earliest days. On her bike, she could cry, cuss, scream or just…be. Dark sunglasses and the noise of the wind concealed the real reasons for her ride.

These were brutal days, the first weeks and months after our youngest daughter Olivia was killed by an impaired college student just a mile from our home near the university. The grief was more than mental; it was a physical thing. It constantly threatened to overwhelm us if we didn’t work it out, find a way to physically release it. As I said, Jane figured out before I did that the simple act of riding a bike was an effective way to work off the weight of overwhelming grief.

Following her lead, I soon unearthed my outdated, undersized Schwinn 5.11 and took the first painful pedal strokes myself. Before long, we were both pushing farther and riding longer. Then we sold one of our cars and bought two new Cannondale hybrids from our friend Ben at The Bike Route. Soon we began looking forward to riding. Biking became something more than just a grief-management strategy. It helped us begin to feel alive again, to explore our forever-changed world in a non-threatening way. Bikes and gears and routes all became tools we could use to relate in a healthy manner to a world that had stopped making sense. It gave us an experience to orient to, and from.

Look, it wasn’t a magic bullet that fixed everything. There was so much more, so many other people who carried us through, but the bikes hold a special place in the midst of it all.

It’s been six years since those first small ventures out, and both of us continue to ride. Biking is now my primary form of transportation. I logged 5000 miles last year, mostly on the Greenway. I’ve ridden when the temps hovered around 10 and when they scorched up over 100. I’ve ridden through snow and storms. I’ve nearly collided with just about every form of humanity and wildlife that populates NWA. I’ve made a host of friends in the restaurants, coffee shops, parks and bike stores along the route. I’ve learned so much about myself, this area, biking for recreation, transportation and therapy.

These are my stories along with a bit of what I’ve learned.
Grace and peace y’all. Let’s ride.